Log turner



W. A. PUGH Dec. 9, 1952 LOG TURNER 3 Sheets-Sheei'I l Filed Dec. 6, 1948 @m/NQ////// l l H/TOR.

W. A. PUGH Dec. 9, 1952 LOG TURNER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1948 1N V EN TOR.

-Mmmm N W. A. PUGH Dec.. 9, l952 LOG TURNER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 6, 1948 INVENTOR. ma@ @A Patented Dec. 9, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a log turner.

In the smaller sawmills it is always a problem to provide the necessary means for operating the log' turner. The log turner most universally used is a bar that projects from below the saw carriage to strike a log that is positioned on the carriage or adjacent to it and turn the log the desired amount. The log turner has both a vertical movement and a movement toward the carrage so that it can be used to move a log from the carriage loading platform or skidway onto the carriage that carries the log past the saw. The lateral movement toward the carriage is necessary to push the log against the uprghts of the carriage. The vertical movementl is used for turning a log. The log turner bar usually has projections or teeth to engage the log.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a novel control mechanism for actuating the log turner bar, which mechanism comprises in its entirety a continuously driven power shaft, cables so connected to the turner bar as to give it lateral and vertical motion, levers mounting the bar and brake controlled drums on which the cables are wound. According to my invention, this operating mechanism is entirely controlled by means of the brakes in a simple and eiective manner which enables the operator to give the bar either lateral or vertical movement or a combination of both.

More specifically it is a purpose of my invention to provide a novel operating mechanism for a log turner bar wherein the bar is pivotally supported near its lower end by a vertically swinging lever and wherein the up and down movements of the bar are effected by means of a cable supporting the bar and its swinging lever, the lateral movements of the bar being imparted by another cable so connected to the bar as to swing the bar on its pivotal connection to the lever.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a novel means for controlling the cable movements which comprises drums for the cables, brakes eiective to control the rotation of the drums and hand lever means for actuating the brakes simultaneously or separately to determine the movement imparted to the log turning bar.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It should be understood however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and should not be considered as limiting the in- 2 vention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a transverse sectional view on a vertical plane through a saw carriage and a loading platform by which the logs are brought to the carriage illustrating the log turner bar and my improved operating mechanism therefor;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 1, but with a portion of the loading platform included;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4 5 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the control connections necessary for operating the turning bar; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed view illustrating the manner of mounting the control lever.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and particularly to Figures l, 2 and 3, the loading platform on which the logs are brought to the carriage is indicated by the numeral I0. As shown, this loading platform uses chain conveyors II for advancing the logs to loading position on the front member I2 of the platform. The car# riage is shown at I3 and has the usual uprights I4 against which logs such as those indicated at I5 are secured for sawing. The details of the mechanism for operating the carriage and for moving the uprights form no part of my invention and therefore have not been shown.

Both the carriage and the loading platform are shown as mounted on uprights such as I6, I'I, I8 and I9. The turning bar is shown at 20 and is adapted to project upwardly through a slot 2| in the loading platform to engage behind a log and move it onto the carriage. All of the operating mechanism for the log turner is located below theplatform and the carriage.

According to my invention I pivotally mount the log turner 20 on the free end of a lever arm 22. The lever arm 22 is pivotally supported at 23 on the uprights I9. A pivot pin 24 connects the turning bar 20 to the lever arm 22. The turning bar 2li has a second bar 25 fixed thereto and projecting at right angles from the bar 20 away from the lever 22, This bar 25 carries a weight 2E which may be adjusted lengthwise of the bar 25 to act as a counter balance for the turning bar 25.

The turning bar 20 is raised and lowered with the lever 22 by means of a rope, cable or other flexible member 21. Hereinafter, the term cable is used to refer' to the member 21 in the broad sense to include such equivalents as ropes or chains. One end of the cable 21 is nxed at 28 to a part of the supporting frame 29 for the carriage. The cable then extends down around a pulley 30 which is journaled in the lower end of the turning bar 20. The cable then extends upwardly over a pulley 3| which is mounted in the supporting frame 32 of the platform Hl. From the pulley 3| the cable 21 extends down to a drum 33. This drum is mounted on a shaft 34 which is driven by a differential gear 35. Another shaft 36 is also driven by the differential gear and carries a brake drum 31. Power is supplied to the differential gear from la shaft 38 which is driven continuously by any suitable means such as the rotor 39, pulleys 40 and 4| and a belt 42.

It is well known that with a differential gear drive of this nature, if you hold one of the shafts 34 or 36, the power will be transmitted to drive the other shaft from the shaft 38. Thus if a brake is applied to the brake drum 31 to hold the shaft 36, the shaft 34 and the drum 33 will be rotated to wind up the cable 21 on the drum 33 and elevate the turning bar 20 and the lever 22. If the brake drum 31 is freed by releasing the brake, the shaft 35 may rotate readily and the shaft 34 can then actually turn in the reverse direction because of the pull through the cable 21 of the weight of the turning bar 20, the lever 22 and the parts carried thereby. Thus by merely applying and releasing a brake for the drum 31, the turning bar 29 can be raised and lowered.

Lateral movement of the turning bar 20 is accomplished by the means of the bar 25. The free end of this bar has both ends of a cable 43 secured thereto. The cable 43 extends around a pulley 44 which is suspended from the fra-me 29 and is wrapped around a drum 45 which is journaled on a shaft 43. The drum 45 is provided with a brake drum head 41 within which an ordinary expanding brake mechanism such as is used for the wheels of automotive vehicles, is mounted. It will be evident that the bar 25 must travel up and down with the turning bar 28. If the free end of the bar 25 is held by the cable 43 any lifting of the bar 29 will also cause the bar 20 to swing laterally at its top end toward the saw carriage. When the cable 43 is released, the drum 45 and the pulley 44 are free running and will allow the bar 25 to move up and down. The amount of braking applied to the drum 45 can be varied to determine the pressure that the bar 20 will exert against a log as it is elevated.

The control mechanism necessary to operate the turning bar 20 consists merely of suitable means for actuating the brakes for the drums 31 and 41. I use ordinary hydraulic brake mechanisms such as are employed in automotive vehicles and provide conduits and 5| for the brakes ofthe drums 31 and 41 respectively. These conduits are illustrated in Figure 5 as leading to a pair of cylinders 52 and 53. These cylinders have pistons therein and piston rods 54 and 55 projecting from the cylinders. The piston rod 54 is operated by a lever 56 pivoted at 51 and connected by a link 58 to a hand lever 59. Likewise the piston rod is operated by a lever 69 that is pivoted at 6| and connected by a link 62 to the hand lever 59. The hand lever 59 extends through a platform 63. The hand lever has a ball 64 which is mounted in a socket 65 on the platform. It is evident that by moving the lever 59 in a direction lengthwise of the link 58, fluid in the cylinder 52 can be forced through the conduit 50 to the brake mechanism in the drum 31. In a like manner, the lever 59 can be moved to cause the link 62 to force piston 55 endwise in the cylinder 53 to apply fluid pressure through the conduit 5| to the brake mechanism in the drum 41. The universal joint provided by the ball 64 and the socket 65 enables the operator to apply either one or both brakes by manipulation of the hand lever 59. It will be appreciated that Figure 5 is a bottom plan view looking up with respect to the platform 63 and that the lower portion 59a of the lever 59 has the links 58 and 62 connected thereto, while the upper portion 59h of the lever 59 extends upwardly adjacent to the carriage where it is readily accessible to the operator.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. This mechanism may be installed in any small sawmill with a minimum amount of equipment, since any drive means can be used for the shaft 38 to supply the continuous power for the operation of the log turner bar 20. The mounting of the bar and the cable control thereof provides adequate flexibility and freedom of movement of the turning bar for all purposes.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sawmill having a saw carriage and a log platform adjacent to the carriage, means for turning logs and moving them toward the carriage comprising a log turning bar beneath the platform adapted to be moved upwardly and laterally against a log on the platform adjacent to the carriage, a lever arm pivotally mounted to swing in a vertical plane, the turning bar having its lower end pivoted on said arm, a laterally projecting arm fixed to the turning bar, a cable operably connected with the lever arm and bar to lift the same, a drum for said cable, power means for rotating the drum to wind the cable, a second cable having both ends fixed to the laterally projecting arm at a point remote from the turning bar, guides for said second cable above and below the laterally projecting arm, and manually controlled means associated therewith for preventing movement of the second cable at will.

2. In a sawmill having a saw carriage and a log platform adjacent to the carriage, means for turning logs and moving them toward the carriage comprising a log turning bar beneath the platform adapted to be moved upwardly and laterally against a log on the platform adjacent to the carriage, a lever arm pivotally mounted to swing in a vertical plane, the turning bar having its lower end pivoted on said arm, a laterally projecting arm fixed to the turning bar, a cable supporting the turning bar and lever arm, a continuously driven shaft, a drum for said cable, means to connect said drum to the shaft for rotation, to lift the turning bar, and means connected to the laterally projecting arm at a point remote from the turning bar to restrict'its movement as the turning bar is raised.

3. In a sawmill having a saw carriage and a log platform adjacent to the carriage, means for turning logs and moving them toward the carriage comprising a lug turning bar beneath the platform adapted to be moved upwardly and laterally against a log on the platform adjacent to the carriage, a lever arm pivotally mounted to swing in a vertical plane, the turning bar having its lower end pivoted on said arm, a laterally projecting arm fixed to the turning bar, a cable supporting the turning bar and lever arm, a continuously driven shaft, a drum for said cable, means to connect said drum to the shaft for rotation, to lift the turning bar, means connected to the laterally projecting arm at a point remote from the turning bar to restrict its movement as the turning bar is raised and a single control lever for actuating said connecting means and said restricting means.

4. In a sawmill having a saw carriage and a log platform adjacent to the carriage, means for turning logs and moving them toward the carriage comprising a log turning bar beneath the platform adapted to be moved upwardly and laterally against a log on the platform adjacent to the carriage, the platform having an open space for passage of the bar upwardly therethrough, a vertically movable support beneath the platform on which the lower end of said turning bar is pivoted, power driven means to raise the bar and its support, a laterally projecting arm fixed to the turning bar, a cable having both ends secured to said laterally projecting arm at a point remote from the turning bar, a pulley and a drum vertically spaced above and below the laterally projecting arm for guiding said cable and a brake for said drum.

5. In a sawmill having a saw carriage and a log platform adjacent to the carriage, means for turning logs and moving them toward the carriage comprising a log turning bar beneath the platform adapted to be moved upwardly and laterally against a log on the platform adjacent to the carriage, a lever arm pivotally mounted to swing in a vertical plane, the turning bar having its lower end pivoted on said arm, a laterally projecting arm xed to the turning bar, a cable operably connected with the lever arm and bar to lift the same, a drum for said cable, power means for rotating the drum yto wind the cable, a second cable having both ends fixed to the laterally projecting arm at a point remote from the turning bar, guides for said second cable above and below the laterally projecting arm, one of said guides comprising a drum about which said second cable is wound, a brake for said last named drum, and a hand lever for actuating the brake.

WILLI-S A. PUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 245,496 Hill Aug. 9, 1881 389,743 Durrin Sept. 18, 1888 514,550 Hill Feb. 13, 1894 691,517 Wilkin Jan. 21, 1902 788,243 Brown Apr. 25, 1905 1,842,114 Pratt Jan. 19, 1932 

